The Lark's Awakening
by Shinrin no Yousei
Summary: Peeta Mellark's blond, wavy locks look unruly, snowflakes caught in his long eyelashes. His expression is one of shock, of a deer realizing it's not alone, a predator is near. His lips are slightly blueish from the cold, wet and swollen from kissing. Warning: Gale/Peeta relationship.
1. Prologue

_Author's Note: _

_This story is a part of a series, The Song of the Sky Lark, where I challenge myself into pairing Peeta with different The Hunger Games characters. If you don't like that sort of thing, and especially if you're against M/M, stop reading. Also if you're anti-Katniss, stop reading. She is important and this might just end up in a threesome. _

_To all the others, welcome, welcome. I hope this scenario hasn't been done before. There is nothing more annoying than reading the same fic over and over again._

**Prologue**

The slag heap is actually a pretty depressing place. Even the name is depressing. The debris of the mining production is collected here, assembled in huge hills of dark slime. It is more than nasty. Smelly, uncomfortable, definitely not a cozy place to linger. Freezing in winter, scorchingly hot in summer.

* * *

><p>Most couples that frequent here are teenagers, still in school. Their encounters were generally short, the boys come so fast it was almost embarrassing and the girls' bodies still inexperienced in terms of real pleasure. Most of them were obviously glad that the deed was done and their partners satisfied, judging by the way the shuffled back to the District.<p>

Gale Hawthorne had visited the slag heap for the first time when he was thirteen years old, shortly after his father had died. That was early, even for a Seam boy. Most boys at that age still slept in their mother's bed. There was no way around that, for the poor Seam kids. Fortunately his mother slept with Posy and Vick in her bed, while he shared his with his brother Rory. It was hard to hide an erection, made touching yourself nearly impossible. Too many people in the same room, so if you felt the urge to scratch yourself, you had to do it somewhere else. Gale didn't masturbate much. There wasn't any need for that. Because the girls offered to do all the work anyway.

At thirteen Namy Howers, a girl in his class, boldly stated that she wanted him to go to the slag heap with her. Namy was a cute girl, tip-tilted nose and curly black locks. And she had a crush on him. They went, hand in hand, behind a smaller hill near the entrance where they did it standing tall, her skirt hiked up and his pants barely opened, because the ground was muddy and clothes were valuable. Her dark skin glowed pinkish when he took her, clumsy and inexperienced. She didn't have much fun, bled even. It had been her first time as it was his, and she cried a little. Gale tried his best to be gentle with her and promised to be with her as her boyfriend, so she was happy. They went again. And again.

A few weeks later another girl who was two classes above him asked if he was interested to go with her.

Laika Carrowshead was experienced and her tits were bigger than Namy's. So Gale thought, why not? He definitely enjoyed her better than Namy, because Laika knew what she was doing. She actually taught him how to get a girl off, how to make her explode with his tongue and how to hit all those right places. When Namy found out that he had been to the slag heap with Laika she had been hurt, and he felt bad.

But not so bad that he regretted it.

He actually took Namy once more. Much later, when they were sixteen and her brother had been reaped. He felt anger and hate, wanted to soothe her hurt, so he had brought her multiple climaxes that night.

Laika had married some coal miner shortly after his seventeenth birthday.

Namy got a new boyfriend after claiming that Gale was emotionally crippled, cold to her. That wasn't true, he thought, he was _not_ cold. He just wasn't interested in these girls beyond their physical charms. They were boring.

Yes, Gale Hawthorne had been to the slag heap countless times before the summer of the 74th Hunger Games and his last ever reaping. Mostly in summer, with Seam girls from the neighborhood.

Dark skinned and skinny as himself, Gale had clear preferences. Not that there were many choices. Town girls rarely went to the slag heap and even if they wanted him, he wouldn't touch them.

He sometimes wondered if the nipples of the mayor's daughter were as pink as her lips. How Madge Undersee would look if she was lying naked in the mud at one of the heaps, but that was almost an afterthought. He never seriously considered asking her to go.

The only blonde Seam girl with the townie look was Primrose Everdeen and she was a child, and he loved her like a sister. Her actual sister was another story altogether.

He didn't think of Katniss Everdeen as a sexual being, a woman, until one of the peacekeepers, Darius, flirted with her at the Hob. A possessive urge went over him then.

Katniss Everdeen was his. His girl. He would never allow a dirty peacekeeper to put his hands on her. He liked Darius, but he wouldn't hold back when it came to Katniss. From the moment this thought of possessiveness overcame Gale he started to imagine Katniss coming to the slag heap with him. Which brought forth an erection every time, without fail.

He sought out Becca Elmskard, his latest conquest, brought her to the slag heap and fucked her hard, while imagining Katniss beneath his shuddering body. He never came so violently before.

It was not long after that, that he realized that Katniss was different. He didn't want to destroy their friendship. Because Katniss was his best friend. He was insanely attracted to her, but most importantly she was his hunting partner, a girl he actually thought of as an equal. A partner that would one day make a good wife to him.

He would start working at the mines only two days after reaping day. School would be out forever, and the days with Katniss in the woods would come to an end, become a nice, but distant memory. He would only be able to hunt on Sundays, which would restrict their short time together even further.

So Gale planned a big confession. If he survived his last reaping he would ask Katniss out. His mother, Hazelle, liked Katniss. She wouldn't mind if he brought her home with him. She definitely wouldn't mind if Katniss became her daughter in law.

No, Gale Hawthorne would never bring Katniss Everdeen to the slag heap, he knew.

When he imagined them making love it always happened at some beautiful clearing in the woods and not in the cold muds in the defines of District 12.

But everything, everything would turn out differently…


	2. At the slag heap

_Author's Note: This story starts after The Hunger Games but before Catching Fire, during the six months when Katniss and Peeta ignore each other, but she and Gale meet._

**I. At the slag heap**

The ground is frozen and the first snowflakes of the year are slowly sailing down on District 12, creating little hats on the slag hills.

Becca didn't want to go today, it's late, she told him, she feels tired, so much work at the cleaners tomorrow. He is annoyed that she denied him, but honestly, he can't blame her much. Everyone knows he is in love with Katniss, even Becca. They all pity him and throw him meaningful looks when they talk about the victors. The star-crossed lovers of District 12. He's not her cousin. He's not. He met Laika Carrowshead on the way back to his house and they talked for a while.

"Gale," she had said softly. "My husband is down at the Hob. Dead drunk. Do you want some company? For old times sake?"

"Yeah, Laika, yeah," he murmured and took her hands guiding her over to their hill near to the unofficial entrance, a hole, ripped into the fence.

* * *

><p>He nuzzles her hair and breathes in her scent and for a few minutes he forgets that he hates this life and that he hates the Capitol and most of all hates himself for letting his girl get out of his grasp, for not confessing his love to her sooner.<p>

He stares at the starry sky above him as Laika rides him to completion and he finally comes with a silent groan, feeling nothing but an uncomfortable emptiness. Laika rearranges her dress as quickly as she can, then stands up slowly. She is shivering and he watches as she offers him her hand, so thin and ghostly. He shakes his head, no.

"Go ahead," he says. "Don't wanna raise suspicion, do we?"

He tries to sound funny, but somehow it sounds hollow and weak. Laika shrugs and disappears into the darkness of the night.

Gale lights one of the cigarettes the foreman spread out a few days ago. Capitol cigarettes. For the victorious District 12. What a joke. He takes a deep drag enjoying the tabacco aroma despite it all, when he hears a girlish giggle from behind the hill. It's fucking freezing out here, so who in their right state of mind would visit the deserted slag heap now?

"You've never been here before?" a female voice says and Gale props himself up, prepares to leave, not interested in witnessing some kiddy couple fucking for the first time.

"No," a male answers, with a voice he knows, a familiar voice. "Merchants usually don't come here."

"Can't really believe that, handsome lad like you" the girl giggles, echoing Caesar Flickerman, that weird Capitol mc. "So….you and Katniss Everdeen haven't fucked?"

A pause. Then after a while the male voice answers, "No, we haven't. She….no."

Gale can't believe it. He crouches on the ground and peers around the hill. There is no mistaking it.

It's him. Peeta Mellark. With a girl he doesn't recognize. She has dark hair, so she's probably from the Seam, but he can't make out much more in the darkness.

"She's probably fucking Gale Hawthorne. Her _cousin_, you know," the unknown girl muses, and Gale's heart skips a beat. The girl's voice is rude, mocking even. Everyone knows that Gale is not Katniss Everdeen's cousin. What the hell is this?

"Yeah," he offers quietly. "She probably is."

Gale feels his anger rising. Why is Mellark agreeing with this girl? Why is he even out here? What's his deal?

"You know, I would have really preferred to do this in your house in the Victor's Village. More comfortable and most importantly warm."

Mellark does not answer for a while and then says, "We had a deal, Mia." He moves closer and kisses the girl on the mouth.

Gale remembers that name, Mia. She's a Seam girl in the same year as Katniss and Peeta Mellark, maybe in their class? Katniss doesn't talk to girls much, but for some reason he remembers this one as her and Katniss' hair is the same length. Mia… she even tried to ask him out one day. Katniss had been with him and looked sour, annoyed, when Mia touched his arm. But that might've been his imagination. Katniss doesn't like him that way. She likes Peeta Mellark. Who is making out with some slutty girl at the slag heap in the middle of a school night. Gale grits his teeth.

Mia pushes Peeta away, breaking their kiss.

"Yes, yess..._lover boy_. No need to get aggressive." She turns around and Gale gets a better look at her. She wears trousers and not a skirt, unusual for girls in District 12. Her hair is braided, lying over her shoulder. She's smaller than Katniss, her body all wrong. No, this girl is nothing like Katniss. So why?

"The way you act, you seem pretty inexperienced to me. Almost like you're a virgin," Mia laughs and empathizes the word _virgin_ as if it is something dirty. Everything here feels wrong to Gale. It's dark but he can see that Peeta is flushing red. The blonde merchant boy steps closer to Mia and grabs her shoulders.

"Stop talking," he says and kisses her again, hard, his hands squeezing the girl's meager breasts.

Suddenly it all makes sense to Gale. Mia is right about Peeta Mellark. He went to the slag heap tonight to get rid of his inexperience. To lose his innocence. With a girl that's not Katniss. He is recreating some scenario that obviously makes sense to him, but is false. More than false. Katniss' heart would break if she knew this. Gale fists the melted mud on the ground, feels the heat and anger rising within him.

Peeta chose not do this in his house in the Victor's Village because he doesn't want Katniss to know. In reality, Gale's heart should sing with joy. He should let them fuck and tell Katniss all about what he witnessed here tonight. He doubts that she'll ever want to be with Mellark again, if she knows about this. But then he imagines the hurt on Katniss' face and knows he can't do it. It won't make Katniss magically love him, it'll only make her sad. And he doesn't want her to be sad. His Catnip. Already suffered so much.

Peeta belongs to Katniss. He is hers. A sudden surge of possessiveness overcomes Gale. This feels familiar. Familiar to the day at the Hob, when Darius wanted to trade kisses with Katniss.

This boy out there, he does belong to Katniss. His innocence belongs to Katniss. His love is for her and not for some sick, rude imitation. Gale springs to his feet, circles around the hill and runs over to them.

He grabs Peeta by the shoulder and pushes him to the ground behind him, sees the baker's hand being ripped away from Mia's bared tits. The girl shrieks and covers herself with her skinny arms. "Are you crazy?" she screams, her voice high pitched.

"Get lost, Mia," Gale growls. Her eyes flicker to Peeta, a questioning look in her hazel eyes. Even her eyes are wrong.

Mia buttons up her shirt reluctantly and then looks at Gale. "I had a deal with him." She cocks her head towards Peeta.

"Whatever the deal, it's up. Now leave before I forget myself." Mia looks scared, and then angrily spits before Gale's feet, and starts shouting "You're all crazy anyway. Fuck you!" Then she turns and runs the same way Laika left a few minutes ago.

Gale flies around and stares at the boy in the mud and weirdly enough the image of Madge Undersee comes to his mind. How he imagined that blonde town girl lying before him, offering herself to him. It makes his cock stir. Peeta Mellark's blond wavy hair looks unruly, snowflakes caught in his long eyelashes. His expression is one of shock, of a deer realizing it's not alone, a predator is near. His lips are slightly blueish from the cold, wet and swollen from kissing a fake Katniss. Gale growls again, a deep guttural sound, still fuming. Why does he feel so betrayed by Mellark's actions? Where does all this anger come from?

Peeta slowly gains control of his limbs and gets up. His hands are fisted, Gale can clearly make out his white knuckles in the dark.

"Why did you do that?" he asks, not meeting his eyes.

"You have no business with this girl, Mellark," Gale's voice is still loaded, loaded with emotion. "You have no business at the slag heap at all, do you understand?"

"Why do you care what I do, Hawthorne?" Peeta's voice is cutting.

Why indeed.

"You're not betraying Katniss with some slut at the heap, s' as simple as that," Gale tells him, knowing it's not simple at all. Peeta flushes red.

"And what about you? Am I supposed to think you decided to take a walk and ended up here by chance? Because the night is so pretty and you love to watch the stunning snowy scenery of the slag heap?"

Now it is Gale's turn to flush. There is some double standard working here, he knows. He doesn't want Peeta at the slag heap, but is an eager visitor of the place himself. Just a few moments ago he fucked Laika, a _married_ woman, and he doesn't feel like he's betraying Katniss. He never felt like he betrayed Katniss. It's unfair, he knows, deep inside, he _knows_. But Peeta, he shouldn't be here. Gale feels a bit of tension leaving his body.

"Listen, Mell..Peeta. I'm not saying you're wrong about me. But…I've been here before. Before Katniss….and it's different for me. Katniss, she likes you. She would be hurt." The words sound weak, in a way. Like he has given up on her. On them ever being more than friends.

Peeta obviously also feels confused at his words, shakes his head.

"I'm not exactly sure why you need me to tell you this, but Katniss is not in love with me. She has made her choice long before we were even in the Games together. You….honestly, you have nothing to fear from me."

He's frustrating, this blonde town boy. Why can't he see that Katniss looks at Peeta differently, that Katniss' dark grey eyes become as soft as the pussy willows from the woods, when she talks about him. It would be cute, if it didn't hurt so much.

"I would appreciate if you'd not interrupt my affairs again," Peeta continues, while Gale's anger returns. "This night… tonight was important to me. I needed that."

Peeta turns around to leave, but Gale grabs his arm again, dragging him back beneath the heap until they are standing within a half a foots length of one another, Gale looking down at Peeta who is a head smaller, much smaller than him. The same height as his Catnip.

"Promise me that you won't meet Mia, or any other girl for that matter, again," he demands, fascinated by the boy's long blond eyelashes.

"Are you kidding me?," Peeta rolls his eyes at him. "I won't promise. It's none of your business what I do."

Gale growls and squeezes Mellark's arm harder.

"Promise!" he almost shouts, the sound dampened by the snow. He knows he is going about this the wrong way, but he has no idea, what to do or what to say to make Peeta give up his plan. How can he? If Peeta decides to take a merchant girl to his house, he has no influence. He can't watch him all the time. But then Peeta Mellark doesn't seem to want a busty, blonde town girl in his fluffy bed. He wants the darkness of the Seam, at the dead of night at the slag heap.

"No," Peeta says calmly, unaffected by Gale's outbursts, "Stop shouting at me. Are you really that dense? You won, okay? You're the one she wants. Do you think I would be here if I didn't believe that? So stop your holier than thou attitude and leave me be."

Maybe Peeta got his heart broken by Katniss? Just as Gale had his heart broken. Could it be that Katniss rejected the baker's son? What he doesn't seem to get is that he was also rejected. Katniss didn't choose Gale, but he still has the pleasure of her company. They meet every Sunday. She told him she hadn't much contact with Peeta, but he didn't believe her.

"What were you doing here tonight, Peeta?" Gale asks, still gripping the bakers wiry biceps.

"Isn't it obvious? I wanted, no, I needed some relief. An escape from everything that's happened to me in the last months," Peeta's voice is tired, lost.

"Do you have any idea how exhausting it is to live a lie? To pretend all the time? To look happy, when all you feel is sadness? I wanted something real for myself. Blame me if you want, but maybe, just maybe I am simply a human being, too. A man with needs."

Gale nods. This much he can understand. He's doing the same thing, in a way. And he doesn't have to pretend, he is allowed to be angry, everyone is sympathetic to his feelings. Peeta's blue eyes stare up at him, and he feels himself melting at the boy's pain. But then, he still can't allow Peeta to fuck a girl that's not Katniss.

He doesn't know why, but while Peeta and Mia having sex does feel like a betrayal, imagining Peeta and Katniss doing it, doesn't. Once the thought of Peeta and Katniss together enters Gale's consciousness he can't seem to get rid of it. It fits, the light blond of Peeta Mellark, his pale skin and muscly arms holding Katniss' thin dark form. They would kiss softly, sweetly and then it would get more passionate by the minute, with Peeta's strong hands massaging her little breasts, teasing her nipples. Her braid snaking down her bared back, caressing her skin. Little soft noises would leave her mouth and Peeta would answer with deep pants, her name on his lips.

It's not wrong, it's right and if he can't be Katniss' first Peeta Mellark should be.

"Is it true," Gale's voice is deeper now, more manly, "what Mia said?

Peeta seems to understand immediately what he is alluding to, by the way his cheeks glow. He looks away and nods.

"What have you done so far?" Gale asks gently.

"Kissed a few girls. And touched…them a bit," Peeta sighs. "What you've seen me and Mia do was the farthest I got with a girl."

He is surprised that Peeta answers at all, surprised at how openly he admits these things to him.

"And with Katniss?" Gale moves closer, feeling Peeta's hot breath on his chest as he answers.

"Only kissing," Peeta's voice quivers. "You've seen it on television. That was all."

Gale believes him, and still feels the need to probe deeper.

"You sure? Haven't seen her naked?"

"No, no. Not naked." Peeta shakes his head. His breathing becomes faster, produces little clouds that meet Gale's nipples, and somehow the nubs begin to harden.

Looking down he makes out a bulge, Peeta's pants appear a little tented. Is that because of Mia? But the girl left a while ago. Peeta is hard. And so is Gale. The fact alone should send him reeling away in repulsion, let the town boy make acquaintance with his fist, present him with a black eye. Never before did Gale get hard because of a boy. _'It's because of Catnip'_, he muses, _'only because I envisioned him with Catnip.'_

Instead of doing something violent, like every instinct is telling him to, he does something tender. Leans down and, for the first time in his life, kisses a boy on the lips.

Peeta is smaller and leaning down to kiss is hauntingly familiar, he's done it a thousand times. It's freezing, but the boy's lips are balmy and soft. His scent is a warm scent, the scent of freshly baked bread and it makes Gale's stomach churn.

And then they are kissing for real, and he's not thinking of Katniss at all, lost in the sensation of the kiss. By claiming Peeta's mouth, he is marking his territory. That's what it feels like. He only comes to his senses when Peeta embraces his midriff and starts to buck his hips against his leg, makes him feel his erection, a barely audible moan escaping his lips. His pants tighten in response and he pulls away, only to stare at Peeta who stares back, mind in turmoil. Big question marks seem to shine in Peeta's eyes, and that's what comes out of his mouth is asked so quietly, Gale almost doesn't catch it.

"What are you doing?"

He wants to answer '_Staking my claim_' but stops himself.

Peeta looks confused, and young, oh so young. How must this look from his perspective? The baker's boy is quite innocent, and Gale remembers these days. The days when you get easily aroused, no way of controlling it, you can't help it, it just happens. It would be wrong to take advantage of that. Peeta came here tonight with a clear intention. He has never been with a girl, never got his nipples teased, never tasted the sweetness of a girl's pussy, got his cock sucked or felt that wonderful tight clenching when a girl comes undone during sex.

"Listen," he starts, scared about what he is about to say, cock still begging for attention, "You're not going to meet with a girl again. If you...if you feel needy, you will come to me."

They are still embracing and he feels Peeta shudder and gaze into his eyes for a few seconds, open and vulnerable. "To you?"

"To me," Gale concurs. " I will teach you what you need to know. Are we clear? No girls for you," Gale hesitates and then adds softly, "No girls, but Katniss."

Peeta's eyes grow dark at that. "Katniss does not want me," he says, and there is no self-pity in his voice, only acceptance.

"We'll see," Gale replies pushing a golden curl from the blondes forehead, while his other hand reaches towards Peeta's crotch. His hand gently cups Peeta's groin, strokes over it slowly, once, twice; until Peeta twitches, makes a sound that is a mixture between pleasure and pain, a sound so honest and pure it makes him pull his palm away as if torched.

Gale takes a step backward, while Peeta instinctively surges his hip forward, searching for Gale's hand again.

Gale is unsure about this plan of his, uncertain about the situation, bewildered by his body's reaction to another guy. He takes another step back and Peeta stops following, arms falling to his sides in a defeated motion. However then he sees Peeta reaching for him, opening his mouth, the lips forming his name "Gale" but he is panicking, overwhelmed at his own bravado. He can't stay at the heap a second longer. He turns around and runs away, to the hole in the fence and crawls right through it, scrambles up and dashes towards the direction of the Seam at the other end of the mining facilities. Running so fast he can barely breathe, painfully aware that he is still hard, only thinking about the things he has done at the slag heap since he was thirteen and about the thing he did for the first time on this cold winter night.

* * *

><p>When Gale leaves Hazelle and his siblings to go to work the next morning his foremost emotion is relief. His mother treated him the same when she prepared the breakfast for his siblings. Hazelle has a habit of reading her son's emotions, can look right through him. He imagines she is capable of seeing that he did something shameful last night. When he arrived in their small hut, everyone was already deeply asleep. It was only a few minutes to midnight and they don't have running water in the house so a bath was out of the question. He barely was able to calm down and fell into an uneasy sleep. He left the house without having breakfast, knowing his growing brothers need it more than he does. He is used to going to work with a growling stomach.<p>

For the first time he welcomes it, the dark of the mines, the cold and wet, and the physical labor. It makes it easier to forget what happened at the slag heap. But then his thoughts always return to Peeta Mellark and the fact that he did kiss him. And he cannot blame the baker's boy, because he wasn't the one who initiated it, it was him, and he is scared. Scared of the offer he made to Peeta. Scared that Peeta will take him on it. Scared that he won't. He weighs the words carefully in his mind, the words he said to Peeta. It wasn't really an offer, he knows that. He practically ordered Peeta to come to him, forbid him to go the heap, and whoever Peeta Mellark is, he doesn't seem like someone who is that easily conquered. In the Games he ran with the careers to protect Katniss. Peeta always seemed to have a plan. It must have been the hormones, Gale decides. Peeta had been hot for Mia and he gave the boy an outlet.

The days go on, like they always do and he doesn't see or hear a thing from Peeta Mellark. Sunday comes around and during their hunting he almost asks Katniss about Peeta, but is afraid of what she'll tell him. He insists on bringing her back to her house in the Victor's Village, and she seems glad. He told her before that he didn't want to be in a Capitol house and Katniss looked disappointed at his words. But he can't help it. He hates the Capitol with all his heart and can't stand the fact that his Catnip has a connection to this place. Her house in the Victor's Village only reinforces the fact to him, so he cannot go there. She offers him tea, but he shakes his head, no, and turns around to leave. There is a house directly opposite to Katniss'. It's the only one with a running chimney so he assumes it is Mellark's. The blinds are drawn though and he can't be sure. Gale wants to go and knock on the door, but decides against it. Katniss is watching from her kitchen window, giving him an unsure wave. What would she think if he knocks on Mellark's door?

He meets Becca on the way back, has a feeling she has been loitering around his house for a while. He rejects her advances if only because he has just spent his whole day with Catnip and doesn't want to taint that. When he opens the door to his family's house a familiar scent wafts into his nostrils. Bread.

"Gale, Gale, look!" Vick is jumping up and down, pointing at the table. There is bread there, good hearty nut and raisin bread, two thick loaves. And cinnamon rolls, too. His siblings are ecstatic, Posy licking her thin little fingers, wet from the frosting while Rory chews on a roll. They never had cinnamon rolls before.

"Peeta Mellark brought this over," Hazelle says and gives him a sharp look that makes him wince.

"What did he want?" he asks, hoping to sound casual.

"He didn't say," Hazelle answers. "But I think that he didn't get what he was looking for."

"Mmhh," Gale says, not sure what to reply. She knows that Peeta had been looking for him, of course. Even if Peeta didn't say it. Hazelle doesn't touch the food, but allows her children to share it between them. Gale doesn't have the heart to ask her why. She doesn't think it's poisoned, but obviously has problems with the gift.

Gale comes back from the mines two days later and finds his siblings munching away on apple pie. The day after that they are presented with a hearty dark onion bread, and when he returns from another 12 hour shift on Thursday, Hazelle is waiting for him on the porch, a basket with muffins in her arms.

"This needs to stop, Gale," she says sharply before he can even greet her. "Whatever is going on, you have to talk to Peeta Mellark."

She looks troubled and he thinks he knows why. It's not pride, even though he knows it plays some part in this. It's because Peeta might just simply stop bringing gifts the next day and her children won't understand why. They are already getting used to it, talking about the baked treats all the time, wondering what's next. He nods. It seems that a confrontation is in order.

When he comes back from the mines on Friday he takes a short cold bath and dresses in his hunting clothes. Then he makes his way to the Victor's Village. Maybe he can enter Peeta's house from the back, so that Katniss won't see him.

But he doesn't even get that far as he almost runs into Peeta at the edge of the Seam. They eye each other suspiciously and Gale suddenly feels the need to say something rude to the baker's son. Peeta's eyes twinkle, barely visible under the flickering streetlamps. Then his face breaks into a gentle smile as he obviously tries to think of a good opening. He has a small bag in his arms, and Gale can smell the freshly made bread on him.

"If you have something to say, come to me, Mellark," he growls. "Stop harassing my family."

As soon as the words leave his mouth, he regrets them. Peeta's face falls. Whatever he expected, this is obviously not it. He wants to apologize, but Peeta's face hardens.

"Fine," he replies coldly. "I'm not bothering them again. Here is what I came to say. I'm agreeing to your terms."

Gale feels a rush of fear and excitement from hearing these words, a shudder of anticipation runs straight through him. Peeta's blue eyes meet his and he continues, his manner all business.

"I'm here because I want us to go to the slag heap. Together."

_End Note: Could it really be? Is Gale Hawthorne a closet….. Everlark shipper?_ :)


	3. In Peeta Mellark's House

**II. In Peeta Mellark's House**

The last men he has seen naked are miners. There are showers in the miners building, running water. Cold, but after the grueling shifts every miner could clean themselves before going home. The shower lasted only a minute or so and there was no soap. These showers barely helped to wash the coal dust away, did not soothe or clean at all. Not that he had looked at the others. He didn't care about naked coal miners. He left those showers hours ago. Went back home and into bed with his siblings. Shortly before midnight he crept out of their little hut in the Seam. If his family would wake to find him gone, they'd probably assume he went to the Slag Heap with Becca or some other girl.

To the Slag Heap he went.

For three weeks now, he went every night.

But not with a girl.

Peeta bought some blankets with him and is waiting beneath a little heap farther south, lighting some candles so Gale can find him in the dark. The kids usually don't come in this far, so Gale suggested this area and the late hour. Getting caught would be disastrous. For both of them.

Peeta had been on the wrestling team, he told Gale about it and even showed him some moves. He has probably seen loads of naked guys, Gale assumes. He doesn't want to, but staring at Peeta Mellark's cock…it is natural that he begins to compare it to his own, right? And even though he hates the thought he feels a little smug that his cock is larger than Peeta's.

He grins to himself, but then falters. Peeta is younger maybe still growing? Did he stop growing at sixteen? He doesn't remember.

And there is another thing that leaves him confused. The baker's sons groin is covered with very soft looking blond pubic hair. It looks kind of strange, though. Soft and sparse.

"What happened to your pubes?" he asks and points to Peeta's groin. Suddenly he remembers the baker's middle boy…Art…, no, Ari Mellark. Peeta's older brother, who could have been Peeta's twin. Actually the Mellark brothers looked like triplets, and more than often people only knew who was who by their size. Ari Mellark had been in Gale's class and him he had seen naked in the school showers. He had bushy pubic hair, as far as he remembers.

"Why?" Peeta likes to answer questions with counter questions. He doesn't really trust him completely, even though they spent so much time together now. Gale bites his lip. He wouldn't trust himself either.

"They look weird, s'all," Gale grumbles.

Peeta's eyes drift behind Gale's left ear and Gale thinks he won't answer. He probably insults Peeta with his words. Since they began with their little meetings he often feels like he is hurting him.

However Peeta always returns. Tonight is the first night they planned to do more than talk and dry humping. If he wants to continue this, he probably shouldn't be so rude to the town boy, but he is honestly curious about it.

"The Capitol is what happened to me, Gale," Peeta finally sighs.

What is that supposed to imply? Peeta doesn't elaborate, so he probes again.

"And that means?" he asks, impatient.

Peeta always acts as if he's too stupid to understand. In that, he reminds him of Katniss and her Capitol stories. She talks to him like he is a ticking time bomb. Waiting to explode. Like he wouldn't understand, no matter what. She barely mentions it anymore, and changes topic as soon as he tries to ask more.

"In the Capitol," Peeta says reluctantly, "The tributes get their body hair removed. Everywhere."

Gale can't help but inspect Peeta's soft member, shriveled in the cold.

"Seriously?" he asks, not understanding where the sense in that lies.

"Yes," Peeta says. "And mine is growing back now, so sorry for lacking in that department. Wait a while and maybe you'll like it better in summer. By the way, my eyes are up here."

Peeta is grinning now and he can't help but grin back. For a moment he even forgets that these are weird Capitol customs. Is curious about the whole procedure of hair removal and then he has a thought that goes straight to his groin.

Katniss' pussy. Completely bare.

"Peeta," he whispers now and moves closer. "What about Catnip? Did they remove her hair, too?"

Before Peeta can even formulate some sort of answer he spits in his hand and takes Peeta's cock in his wet fist.

"Oh," Peeta moans slowly, "Yes, yes…they did."

The thought does him in. Katniss Everdeen without any hair between her legs. There would be no chance for modesty, no trace of the dark fur he always imagines she shares with the other Seam girls. He licks his lips. This is hot. Licking her sweet bared lips, slowly, steadily. The thought is almost enough to make him come on the spot.

"Tell me about it," he whispers into Peeta's ear. But Peeta doesn't seem to understand.

"I told you, I haven't actually…seen her..n..naked," he shudders and circles his hips to meet Gale's hand. Gale groans.

"Who cares," he says deeply and presses small, wet kisses along Peeta's left earshell, up and down, while imagining Katniss' slit.

"Important lesson for you. Sex mostly happens in your head. Ever heard of fantasies? What do you think of when you jerk off?"

Peeta hesitates and then admits what Gale knew all along. "Kat..Katnissss…" he groans.

"Yeah, that's right." Gale nods and continues his jerking motions. "But not only her beautiful eyes, am I right? Didn't you ever wonder what she looked like down there?"

"All the time," Peeta pants and Gale grins. This is common ground for them.

"Can I touch you, too?"

Gale nods and lets Peeta take him out of his pants and in his strong hand. It is really cold down here, but at the moment he doesn't mind.

Peeta moves closer and Gale understands immediately. Since they first started this, Peeta always insists on kissing before they do anything else. He's not entirely sure why, and Peeta doesn't tell him either. Shortly after they started to meet he was still reluctant, unsure. He refused to kiss Peeta at their first meeting and Peeta got upset, told him he could put his _offer_ where the sun don't shine if he didn't agree to Peeta's terms as well. He had been shocked and a little afraid that Peeta would go and tell people about their meetings and then agreed. He is still unsure about the details of their arrangement to a certain degree. But kissing Peeta isn't bad. Not bad at all.

Firstly Peeta always tastes sweet. Having changed bodily fluids with girls from the Seam who hardly ate and showered once in a blue moon, he is used to less then perfect tastes. Peeta is different. He tastes like cinnamon, dill and fresh flour. Once they started kissing, it was hard to stop. Gale found himself craving it. Thinking about the boy, daydreaming about exchanging pleasure during the long hours in the mines. Counting the minutes until he would see Peeta again. Loving their kisses so much more than the ones he shared with his earlier conquests. He even began to dismiss Becca's advances and Laika's flirty looks.

They kiss and touch and while he wants to talk about Katniss and her sweet pussy his thoughts drift. Away to Peeta. Peeta Mellark and his hot kisses. Peeta Mellark, warm and soft. Solid. And even though Gale doesn't like to admit it, he is fun to be around. When they are not kissing they tell each other funny stories or wrestle around. The wrestling matches usually result in hard-on's and furious dry humping.

This is much more fun. While he nips at Peeta's lower lips and they jerk each other off, he thinks of nothing but Peeta. They both come, Peeta first and he shortly after. He doesn't have to tell Peeta many things about touching him, they are both boys after all. They know what works in getting off. Gale takes a small towel that Peeta brought with him to clean them both and then he presses another short kiss on Peeta's lips. When he pulls away he sees that the town boy's lips are slightly blueish.

"You're cold," he states unnecessarily. Peeta's teeth chatter in answer.

"Up you go," says Gale and puts Peeta's trousers back in place. He then draws one of the extra blankets around Peeta's shoulders, feeling weirdly protective. Like when he is caring for one of his brothers. He dresses himself, careful not to meet Peeta's eyes.

"I'd like to offer you a cigarette, but I'm out..." he says, breaking the uncomfortable silence they often share after coming.

"Don't worry," Peeta says, opening his arms slightly. "Won't you share the blanket with me?"

"Can't," Gale answers. "Gotta go, you know. I need my beauty sleep." What he isn't saying is that he needs his sleep because he must be at the mines at 7 a.m. sharp. And he needs to sleep, at least a few hours a night. Victor Peeta can sleep in until the afternoon, if he wants to.

"Gale," Peeta begins, and Gale knows what's coming.

"I gotta go, Peeta," he says urgently but leans down to caress the boys cheeks, red from the cold. Or are they red from coming? Peeta looks so damn adorable like this and Gale feels a strong sense of pride that _he_ can get his boy off so fast.

When did he start thinking like this? It's only been three weeks. He leans down and gives Peeta a slow and wet kiss goodbye. Another erection is forming already, so he pulls away quickly, leaving a thin band of saliva between them.

"Did you think about it?" Peeta asks again.

"Mmmh," he answers, not confirming and not denying. "I know, it's much more comfortable, but…"

"I don't think there is another option, at least in winter," Peeta insists. They have spoken about this a lot. But Gale is reluctant.

"But if someone actually sees me…I don't know. It is risky. I don't want you to get sick, but I'd rather we stay here."

"Gale, if this is about Katniss…"

"It's not." He says this but it's a lie. They both know it's a lie.

"She doesn't come. Not her, not my family, not Haymitch," Peeta explains again, repeating the same facts over and over.

"She never sat a foot in my house. No one comes to visit, no one. Please believe me."

The sad look in Peeta's eyes betrays the truth in his words. No one visits. No one.

"Okay," he decides, "but only if you have fruit cake ready for me."

The smile that breaks out on Peeta's red face makes him hopeful. Might be that meeting Peeta in the Victor's Village is a big mistake. But right now he is willing to try.

"I'll keep the back door to the kitchen open for you," Peeta says, a satisfied smile visible on his face.

"Let yourself in, you can come any time you want."

* * *

><p>It takes another three days before he works up the courage to go.<p>

* * *

><p>Halfway there, he changes his mind and turns around, back to the Seam. Frustrated by his inability to decide, if he really wants this.<p>

* * *

><p>After having no contact with Peeta for almost a week, Sunday arrives. It's freezing cold, this winter a harsh one for the District. Hunting is hard in these cold days, even the squirrels rarely showing their bushy tails in their trees. The sun is weak and barely visible behind the shady clouds when he checks the snares. He's not sure if Katniss will come today. She doesn't have to . She doesn't need to hunt, and if he's honest, her skills with the bow and arrow have deteriorated since she returned from the Games. He told her hunting humans can't be too different compared to hunting animals. He still believes that. But in Katniss' eyes there lies another truth. The Hunger Games made her overthink the hunt. Now that she doesn't need to kill a deer to survive, she seems to almost think the animals have a soul. After they shot a deer a few weeks ago, she mumbled something about Rue and the paleness in her face didn't go away until they finally made it back to her house.<p>

When he turns into the clearing near their tree he sees her, small, lithe and beautiful. She seems to be lost in thought, as she doesn't react when he approaches her.

"Catnip?" he say,s but she doesn't freeze. So she heard him after all. Her eyes meet his and start to shine.

"Gale," she whispers, smiling at him, and it makes his stomach do a happy dance. He is not sure what to think. Katniss never smiled at Peeta like this, at least not on camera. Her smiles, always dazzling to the audience. But people who really knew her, like Gale or her family could see that this wasn't the real Katniss Everdeen. If Peeta had actually known Katniss he might've realized earlier that Katniss wasn't genuine. Or was she? Gale doesn't know. When he is alone with Katniss and they joke easily together, fall into their usual rhythm of hunting and talking he almost forgets that he and Peeta Mellark are essentially..seeing each other? Dating? Jerking each other off? What exactly is this _relationship_ about? Licking their wounds?

_'Katniss and I don't talk' _

These are the words Peeta told him and he can't help it, he just has to make sure.

Katniss is inspecting some walnuts that lie forgotten beneath a bush, when he clears his throat.

"How are things at home?" he opens with a fairly normal question, so she won't go defensive right away.

She doesn't look at him, but answers,

"Pretty good. Prim got an A in biology class. She wrote a ten page paper on goats, can you believe it?" Katniss chuckles.

"Mother, well, she's better these days. She loves the house. I think, it reminds her of her merchant days. She asked me about opening a small practice in one of the rooms, but I don't think the Ca…"

Katniss stops. Oh, here we go again. The _Capitol_.

"I don't think it's a good idea," Katniss says instead, showing him what he immediately recognizes as a forced smile. More than often, she is pretty easy to read. Like Peeta.

"What about your neighborhood? Enjoying cozy tea times with the other victors?"

Katniss looks at him sharply, but he works hard at keeping his face neutral.

"Mmh..no," she says, and brushes a few leaves out of her way. Obviously uncomfortable now.

"Come on, Catnip. Don't tell me you haven't ever been curious. Don't you remember the dares from back when we were kids? Like going into Haymitch's house and steal something so that you could prove you went in?"

These tests of courage had been popular when he was smaller, back when only Haymitch lived in the Victor's Village. Gale never went, but he remembers a few boys who did and returned with random items of the house, bragging about stealing a cushion or a fork.

"Oh, yes," Katniss laughs again, " I remember that! Oh, I've got to tell Haymitch and ask him if he ever noticed stuff that went missing!"

"So you meet Haymitch…" he says.

"I've been to his house a few times," Katniss nods, in a good mood. It's now or never.

"And what about your other neighbor? Visit him often, do you?" he tries to ask this as casually as possible, but Katniss' body tenses up immediately.

"No. I told you before. We…we don't meet."

"You honestly never went into his house?" _Let's see, if Peeta was for real_, he thinks.

"Why should I?" Katniss stands up, finished with her search for nuts.

"Let me guess. He's the star-crossed love of your life. Might be that you're interested in his living arrangements."

Katniss doesn't even muster to hide the pain in her expression.

"I never went into Peeta's house, Gale. And..he is…he is…" she stutters, "not the love of my life…"

Peeta is right. They don't meet. They don't talk. And he, he still has the pleasure of meeting Katniss, week after week. While Peeta is all alone. For a while he doesn't say a thing. He wants to kiss Katniss again. Like he did a few weeks ago. Wants to tell her that he is still interested, that they could be more.

"If I ask nicely, would you let me kiss you?" he mumbles and her face turns into a grimace.

"Please don't," she whispers, her braid caught in a wind gust from the east.

He still wants her. So much it hurts.

He still desires her. So much it makes him afraid.

Somehow he also knows that this is not what Katniss wants or needs. And he can't force her to.

"Why do you think did the Mellark's not move into the Victor's Village?"

Katniss looks at him, frowning. This was probably not the follow up she expected. It's common knowledge that the Mellark's stayed at the bakery.

"Probably because they have that town house and couldn't well abandon it," Katniss muses. "It's different for them. They are not Seam, like us."

Gale knows what Katniss is doing. After rejecting the kiss, she is trying to soothe his ego. Drawing a strict line between Peeta Mellark and both of them. While he might have appreciated this earlier, it only annoys him this time. Katniss and Peeta are more of a unit than Katniss and Gale have ever been. Forever bounded to one another through the Games. And where does that leave Gale?

"You're not Seam anymore, don't fool yourself," he cuttingly says and looks away. He knows he's hurting her, but he can't help it. Why does everything has to be so complicated?

Katniss doesn't say much after that and they return to the fence, the air tense between them. He waves goodbye and turns to walk into the direction of the Hob, when Katniss grabs his arm.

"See you next Sunday?" her voice sounds unsure, afraid of abandonment. That will never happen. No matter what.

"Of course, Catnip," he answers and gives her a short hug. "See you."

He walks away then, drops off some meat at home and continues to the Hob where he trades the rest of their haul. He has some money left and turns around to look at some of the stalls. Then spots Laika's husband, a lanky coal miner, sitting at the small bar drinking the cheapest liquor they sell. Poor Laika. Barely 21 and already having a drunk for a husband. There are rumors that the guy is not meeting his quota at the mines. Might be that Laika has a bleak future, might be that when her husband won't be able to handle the grueling work anymore his wife has to pick up the slack. For a woman in District 12 there ain't many options. Not only Cray has a taste for a hot blooded Seam girl, others would pay as well.

Gale stares at the coins in his hands. Maybe he should ask Becca to marry him. She would say yes, he's sure of it. She also seems to be the faithful type. But spending the rest of his life in the mines, making babies with Becca is not how he imagined his future to be. He wants more, wants out. And he wants Katniss. A small part of him can admit that he even wants Peeta. While getting Katniss seems to become more like an impossible dream, he actually seems to have Peeta to a certain extent. He neglected the boy this last week. Should he visit him at his house tonight?

"Hey, Hawthorne," Laika's husband yells, "Wanna join us for a drink?" He points to some other miner and Gale doesn't hesitate. He has enough of being responsible and slips onto one of the bar stools. Might as well have a drink tonight.

* * *

><p>The door is not locked. He pushes it open slowly, silently, not making any noise. As soon as he enters the house, he knows he is alone. The hunter in him feels it, Peeta isn't here. It's almost midnight, so he briefly wonders where Peeta has gone to, that late. The kitchen is huge. There is a round table with five chairs. It looks abandoned, like no one sits there. Ever. Where does Peeta eat his meals? On the middle of the table is a fruit cake. Untouched. Gale inches closer. No doubt this is the fruit cake Peeta promised him. He almost giggles at the sight of it. It's cut already. Gale takes a piece and bites into the soft pastry. Chewing, he can't help but notice that the cake is freshly made. He wonders if Peeta made one, each day, anticipating his arrival. That boy has too much time on his hand.<p>

Now what? The cake is eaten, and Peeta is not here. He can't very well leave now, that would be rude. He wishes he didn't eat it now, so Peeta wouldn't have known that he came. He stays completely still, unsure what to do. He is light headed, slightly drunk. Maybe he could lie down for a minute? No, falling asleep here wouldn't be a good idea.

There is a noise, somebody is walking up the porch and opens the front door. Maybe Katniss is sneaking around the house. Maybe both of them were lying and she actually comes here every night. Sneaks into Peeta's bedroom, wherever that is. Undresses herself slowly, and slips under the covers, waiting for him. Opening her bare legs for him. Crazy hairless Capitol pair that they are.

Of course, it is not her.

Peeta is the only one making so much noise.

To Peeta's credit he doesn't scream when he turns on the light in the kitchen. He winces when he sees Gale though.

"Gale..hey.." he says, startled, "I didn't expect you tonight."

"Why? You made cake," Gale says and points at the half eaten fruit cake.

Peeta's eyes grow large.

"Yes, well, I'm a baker. That's what I do."

This irks Gale. Peeta made the cake for him. But pretends otherwise.

"So it wasn't for me, then?"

"I didn't say that." Peeta slowly limps over to the kitchen sink and fills himself a cup of water.

"Want a drink?"

"No."

"Okay." Peeta gulps down the water and then points to the table.

"Do you want to sit down?"

"No."

Peeta stares at Gale.

"Well, what do you want, then?"

"What do I want? It's you, that always wanted me to come over, Peeta." Gale doesn't know, why he is getting so angry.  
>"Where were you?"<p>

"Nowhere. You're acting strange. What is it with you tonight?" Peeta smiles then, and Gale thinks he recognizes that smile. It's the one that Peeta uses when a situation seems to get out of control. Perhaps often used at home, with his parents.

What is it with him tonight? For one, he is drunk. And secondly, he is heartsick. Katniss does not want him. She wants this boy here, for some reason. This is all too much, all too crazy.

"Drop your pants, Peeta," he says. Peeta raises his eyebrows.

"Here?" He looks around the kitchen, amusement twinkling in his eyes. Gale nods.

"I want to see you jerk off," he says deeply and licks his lips. He wasn't aware that he wished to see this until he said it. Remembers their conversation about Peeta's masturbatory fantasies.

"You can watch me, but let's go to the bedroom, okay?" Peeta makes a move to the door that leads deeper into the house. Gale doesn't follow.

"Gale?"

He stares at the fruit cake on the table and then back at the baker's boy.

"Well, then forget it. Forget that I ever said a thing. And forget that I ever made that stupid offer. Forget those last weeks, let's pretend they never happened, okay? Let's go back to being strangers who dislike each other. The Victory Tour is coming up. You can be with her, all the time. Can touch her, kiss her. Have the chance to woo her."

He hates the way his voice cracks, hates the way a lone tear forces its way out of his left eye. Stupid white liquor. Peeta looks at him, lost. He sees the truth in the blond boy's eyes. Peeta will use this chance with Catnip. The same way Gale is trying to use his chance every Sunday. Deep in his heart he knows that Peeta will win this fight. That he lost in the very moment that Peeta and Katniss became victors of the 74th Hunger Games.

Peeta is beside him now and takes him by the hand.

"Come with me," he says and he lets himself be lead through the dark house, up the plushy staircase and into a room that turns out to be the bedroom.

"Sit," Peeta orders and Gale sits down on the bed. Taking his face into his hands, Peeta leans down to kiss his cheeks, first the right one and then the left one, catching the tear with his mouth. Then he kisses his nose, and finally presses a soft kiss on his lips. When he pulls back, Peeta smiles knowingly and Gale realizes that he smelled the white liquor on him, feels caught and flushes red.

Peeta drops on his knees awkwardly. This must hurt, with the prosthetic. He then strokes Gale's knee for a while, and Gale sniffles, locking his gaze to Peeta's. Now what?

"Gale," Peeta begins, still stroking him through his pants. "Will you teach me how to satisfy you?"

Maybe it's the white liquor, but he doesn't quite follow.

"Don't understand," he whispers.

"Show me how to pleasure you," Peeta drops his gaze, blushing, "with my mouth."

"But.." His head is spinning. This is wrong. So far, everything they did was under the guise of pleasuring Katniss. This is how you kiss her, this is how you touch her, this is how to get her off. They always talked about Katniss, fantasized about her. While they jerked each other off, he described a female body in great detail so that Peeta would know what to do. They don't get off to the thought of the other. Do they? Peeta doesn't need to know how to pleasure a guy orally. How to suck a cock. It feels wrong to teach him that. Peeta's hand is cupping his groin now and most of the doubts he is harboring tumble down like a house of cards.

"Do I really have to teach you? Just imagine Katniss doing it to you, and you got it," he tries one last time, while the slight stirring turns into a full blown erection. Peeta shakes his head.

"Show me," he repeats, placing a short kiss on his still clothed groin. Gale pulls down his pants and underwear in one go and Peeta looks a bit afraid for a short second.

Gale smirks, "See…we better stop th.." And then Peeta begins to lick him, starts by bathing his balls with his tongue and he forgets for a moment that he is supposed to be the one who guides Peeta along. But Peeta doesn't need instructions, not for this. He concentrates on the tip of Gale's erection, and that's quite enough already. He is such a hard worker and begins to use his hands, stroking along, while Gale plays with his locks, caressing his beautiful light hair, but never putting pressure on it.

"Please, don't stop," he moans, barely able to stand the wonderful feeling. Peeta is good. Almost as good as Laika, who had a lot of practice. Peeta closes his lips around the tip, circles his tongue around, once, twice and a third time. He stops, gives him a soft kiss on the head while he continues to massage Gale's balls with his warm hand.

"I won't, don't worry," he licks along the underside of the shaft, "you can come in my mouth, if you want to," and closes his mouth around Gale's cock again.

"No, please, that's too much," Gale whimpers, "Don't..don't swallow."

But when Gale starts coming and tries to gently push Peeta away a few moments later, Peeta holds his ground. Swallows all of his come.

Gale is still trying to catch his breath, and stares at Peeta who smiles at him gently.

"That cannot taste good, gosh, I'm so sorry, I warned you.. didn't I, I'm sorry." Most girls don't like to do this and Peeta must be disgusted. He can't bear the thought of Peeta being disgusted with him. He pushes his arms under Peeta's and pulls him up to sit beside him.

"Really, why did you? Lil' one, I'm so sorry," before he can even think he kisses his boy deeply, tasting his remains on Peeta's lips. A sudden surge of love and affection seems to build up in him, something weirdly painful that seems to clench around his heart, something he never felt for any of the girls he shared this with.

"It's okay, Gale, I wanted to." Peeta says, and leans against his shoulders. He nods, still feeling warm. This was so wonderful. He doesn't even remember why he felt so angry and sad earlier. Happiness makes him grin at Peeta now.

"What do you want me to do?" he says after a while, eager to return the favor.

"I'm tired, Gale. So tired," Peeta says, his voice barely audible, "I know, you have to be at the mines at seven. But…would you stay with me until I fall asleep?"

Peeta is full of surprises. He had wanted to satisfy him sexually, but that's not what Peeta wishes for.

"Where were you earlier, Peeta?" he asks again, stroking the strong back of the boy's shoulder.

"Here and there. I have trouble sleeping…and when you didn't come…usually I wait until midnight and then walk around the District. To the bakery and back. Around the town square, or the Victor's Village. Tonight I went for my walk around eleven as I was sure you wouldn't come. It's Sunday, after all."

The day he and Katniss go hunting. Not believing he would come, but baking his favorite cake anyway. Gale groans. Peeta is too nice. Too sweet. It makes everything so much harder.

"Peeta, I'm sorry about earlier. What I said. I was a little drunk. I'll stay. Go ahead, try to sleep."

Peeta nods, stands up and walks over to the bathroom. Gale undresses quickly and slips under the blankets to warm them up. Peeta returns in his pajamas and then slips in besides Gale.

"Do you have an alarm clock, or something? I have a feeling I won't wake up early enough in a bed this comfy," Gale laughs.

Peeta nods and sets the alarm to five on some fancy digital clock on his night stand.

"Thank you," he says, and snuggles closer, resting his head on Gale's torso.

It scarcely takes two minutes to make Peeta fall into a deep, dreamless slumber with Gale Hawthorne in his bed.


End file.
